THE BATTLE OF ANE

The Battle of Ane

The Battle of Ane is a battle that took place in 1227 in the south of the province Drenthe and is written upon in "Quedam narracio de Groninghe, de Threnta, de Covordia et de diversis aliis sub diversis episcopis Traiectensibus" ( A story about Groningen, Drenthe, Coevorden and all sorts affairs during different Utrecht bishops) from 1232.

Four diorama's of the 'Battle of Ane' were made in 2004 in commission of the National Tin Figure Museum by Bähr and Schmidtchen from Leipzig.

 

The Battle of Ane tells, summing up, the rise and fall of Rudolf lord of Coevorden who, supported by the 'Drenthe' population, rebels against his feudal lord the bishop of Utrecht. His most important feat of arms was the smashing defeat which he inflicted on the undefeated knight's army of the bishop. That was the Battle of Ane. However four years later Lord Rudolf was captured and broken upon the wheel by soldiers of the bishop.

The case history

In the Middle Ages the north of The Netherlands fell under the reign of the bishop of Utrecht . To exercise his authority the bishop used two prefects. One in Groningen and one in Coevorden. However the prefect of Coevorden had a varying relationship with the bishop and he took his interest above that of the bishop. When the merchant family Gelkinge in Groningen rebelled against the reign of the local prefect they were supported by Rudolf of Coevorden. The bishop himself went to Groningen and tried to restore his authority by concluding an agreement. However Rudolf and the Gelkingers did not keep the agreement.

In may 1227 the bishop send an army of knights and shield-bearers to Groningen to help the prefect of the town Groningen. A part of this army, the knights of Salland, he posted in Ommen to prevent Rudolf of Coevorden helping the Gelkingers again. However that fails completely. With a small group of soldiers Rudolf of Coevorden succeeds in dislodging these knights and plunders Ommen. Rudolf takes from this victory so much courage, that he rallies all his allies, marches against Groningen and occupies the city.

Battle of Ane, 28 July 1227

The bishop of Utrecht cannot be so very particular about the breaking off the agreement and rallies a heavily armed army of knights and foot-soldiers. Convinced that his army is invincible the bishop welcomes his warriors in Ommen. Whereupon they march from Ommen to Ane.

 

When Rudolf of Coevorden hears about this he raises his siege of Groningen and marches with his men, for the greater part peasants, beheading the army of the bishop. He posts his men opposite to the bishop's army, separated only by a peat-bog.

Convinced of their superiority and challenged by the peasants, the bishop's army opens the attack. However by the weight of their horses and armour the knights get peat-bound, where they are an easy prey for the peasant-army of Rudolf of Coevorden. By this first set-back the army panics and the knights are on the run, chased by the 'drentse' peasants. The bishop himself is killed in this battle and his scalp is cut off.

Four years later ...,

Four years later, after further battles and confrontations, negotiations start between Rudolf of Coevorden and the new Bishop of Utrecht on the castle Hardenberg. The Bishop is speechless with amazement when Rudolf arrives accompanied by one servant only to negotiate. However bound by the rules of honour the bishop has to guarantee the safety of his guest.

In Nijenstede, near Hardenberg, a quarrel takes place concerning the payment of taxes between Hendrik van Grasdorf, a friend of Rudolf, and the local population. Soldiers of the bishop, which are in the neighbourhood, intervene in this conflict; they kill a number of men of Hendrik van Grasdorf and Hendrik himself is wounded. By the soldiers he is brought to the castle of Hardenberg .

The violent end.

The population go to Hardenberg and shout to kill Rudolf of Coevorden and Hendrik of Grasdorf. One week later both are publicly broken upon the wheel and displayed on poles to the people. This all happened on Saint Jacobs day, July 25 th 1231, in Hardenberg.

For him who still does not have enough of this story .

We have a part from the text of the book ' Historie van Overijssel' of W. Nagge from 1678 too. In 17th century Dutch he tells about the motive and the expiration of the Battle of Ane and the death of Rudolf of Coevorden. Historie van Overijssel